CHAPTER 21: The Road To War

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 21: The Road To War

2 Objectives: o We will examine the various factors that led to World War I. o We will analyze what factors led the United States to be involved in the war.

3 (Mat 24:6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

4 The Collapse of European Peace: o The major powers of Europe were organized by 1914 in two great competing alliances. o The Triple Entente linked Britain, France, and Russia. o The Triple Alliance united Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy.

5 The Collapse of European Peace: o The chief rivalry however was not between the two alliances, but between the great powers that dominated them: Great Britain and Germany. o The trigger that started World War I was when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian national in Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia.

6 Wilson s Neutrality: o Wilson called on his fellow citizens in 1914 to remain impartial in thought as well as deeds. o It was impossible with German and Irish immigrants siding with the Germans either by affection or hatred for the British. o Wilson himself sympathized with the British.

7 Wilson s Neutrality: o Economic factors caused America not to treat both sides equally. o The British placed a naval blockade on Germany to prevent munitions and supplies from reaching the enemy. o As a neutral nation, the U.S. had the right in theory to trade with both Britain and Germany, but for Americans to trade with Germany, they would have to defy British blockade.

8 Wilson s Neutrality: o A truly neutral response to the blockade would have been to stop trading with Britain as well. o But the allies, Britain and France were huge buyers of American goods during the war that caused one of the greatest economic booms in the nation s history. o So America continued to trade with Britain and transformed itself from a neutral power into the arsenal of the allies.

9 Wilson s Neutrality: o Germany now utilized submarines to stop the flow of supplies and sunk the British passenger Lusitania without warning, that was also carrying munitions as well. o 1,198 people were killed including 128 Americans.

10 Wilson s Neutrality: o Wilson angry, demanded that Germany promise not to repeat this acts and that the Central Powers affirm their commitment to neutral rights. o The Germans finally agreed to Wilson s demands but tension between the nations continued to grow.

11 Wilson s Neutrality: o A few weeks later, Germany attacked the unarmed French steamer Sussex, injuring several American passengers. o Again Wilson demanded that Germany abandon its unlawful tactics. o Germany again agreed.

12 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o Domestically, Wilson faced powerful forces that opposed intervention with elections nearing for him. o Initially, Wilson sided with those who did not want a military buildup but after the continual tensions building between Germany and the U.S. o Wilson endorsed an ambitious proposal for a large and rapid increase in the nation s armed forces.

13 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o In the election of 1916, supporters of Woodrow Wilson asserted that Wilson s diplomatic achievement was to keep America from war and that the Republican opponent would lead them to war. o Wilson was reelected by a small margin.

14 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o With Wilson elected, tensions remained high with Germany. o Wilson required a justification for American intervention that would unite public opinion and satisfy his own sense of morality. o In the end, he created that rationale himself.

15 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o The United States had no material aims in the conflict, rather the nation was committed to using the war as a vehicle to construct a new world order based on the same progressive ideas that motivated the reform in America.

16 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o In a speech before Congress in 1917, Wilson presented a plan for a postwar order in which the United States would help maintain peace through a permanent league of nations. o Peace that would ensure self-determination for all nations, a peace without victory. o Here were, Wilson believed goals worth fighting for if there was sufficient provocation. o Provocation came quickly.

17 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o On February 25, 1917, the British gave Wilson a telegram intercepted from the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, to the government of Mexico. o It proposed that in the event of war between Germany and the United States, the Mexicans should join with Germany against the Americans. o To regain their lost provinces (Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest) when the war was over.

18 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o Widely publicized by British propagandists and in the American press, the Zimmerman telegram inflamed public opinion and helped build popular sentiment for war. o A few weeks later, in March 1917, a revolution in Russia toppled the reactionary Czarist regime and replaced it with a new republican government. o America would be spared allying itself from a despotic monarchy.

19 Preparedness versus Pacifism: o On April 2, two weeks after German submarines had torpedoed three American ships, Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of War. o War was declared in April 6.

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